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ALBUM REVIEW

Chocolate Chuck

Unmixed Nuts Vol. 2 & 3

Released February 2016

This is one of my favorite beat tapes from 2016: Unmixed Nuts, Vol 2 & 3 from Chocolate Chuck. He knows how to tap the feelings of zeitgeist nostalgia, merging classic soul and Saturday morning cartoon humor with a floor-shaking repetitive danceability akin to Daft Punk. On the weekend, I attempted to play this album while assembling furniture, but the music was simply too engaging to be in the background: I kept stopping my work to just listen and absorb the many resplendently distorted combinations of samples and vibes. Every time I look at this cover, it makes me laugh—at least it did until the November elections—though the contents have little to do with party politics. Save this one for your “best of 2016” lists.